Ball-and-socket trailer hitch



Nov. 28, 1944.

R. F. SMITH 2,363,755

BALL AND SOCKET TRAILER HITCH Filed Sept. 27. 1943 V JNVENTOR.

I BY

Patented Nov. 28, 1944 4 UNITED STATES PATENT ormer: is N mitimioziriimme w w i 'Manufacturing 00.,

poration of Iowa.

Des Moines,-Iowa, 9,1501? Application' september 27, 1943,-s riaino, 503,995 a i l 7Glaims. l(Cli 280 -33.17

MYihventionirelates to itrailer hitches of the type in which'one member has a ball. and another member has a socket to receive the ball, the members beingadapted to be attached, respectively,totowing and towed vehicles.

i It is "the purpose of my invention to provide in such a-ball and socket trailer hitch a novel and simple'means for locking the ball in the socket andreleasing'th ball.

pivotedina recessin the mernber which has the socket,-to'have movementtoward and from ball holding position It is moved to and from such position by means of a locking element which can bemoved into and out ofa bore which communicates with said recess "or may be part of it, and then movedto efiectthe operationof the ballengaging element. The locking element has abore receiving'a stem on the'balLso that the locking elementf may move with relation to the ball engaging element and movement of the In my invention 'aball-engaging elementlis as pivoted to thetmemberZO inthe recess 34 by acros pin 35.4 Itmay be mounted in anysuitable} way "to'p'ermit itto serve its function of engaging and releasing the ball. Thisjball-engagingelement38 has aconcave face 40 which may be moved to position: toengage the t ball r2 andto form part of a socket. fI'he element 38 also has a stem 42 projecting into a bore 44 in alocking element "46 fittingin the upper end of the bore'36, A The upper part of thelocking element 46 4 projects "above theqmember 20 and has a detachable non rotatablefhandle 48,

adapted to be grasped for'manual manipulation.

The lower part. of the locking element 46F'fits into the upper end of the bore 136m the memberZll. Thebore 36 has a shoulder to limit the downward movement of the element 46 therein. The cross section ofthelower part of the element 4"fivcorrespon'dsto that ofthe upper part locking elements'erves to operate th ball-en gaging element. The ball-engaging element and the locking elementaflordball locking and releasing mechanism. 4

With theseand other objects in view, my in-v vention consists in the construction; arrangement andcombinati'on of the variousparts of my apparatus, wherebythe objects contemplated are'attained; as hereinafter more fully set forthQ' pointed out'inmy claims, and illustratedin'the accompanying i'drawing, ini whichz Figure 1 is a vertical sectionalview of my trailer hitch, in ball locking position, pjarts beingshown inelevation. l w Figure 2 isa side elevation of thehitch'illus trating the ball-locking mechanism, in ball-releasing positiomupartsbeing shown in section, and 4 Figure 3 is a detailed horizontal, sectional view; taken onthe line 3-3 of' Figure 1. w j w My improved trailer hitch illustrated in the drawing herewith'hasa 'ball member) with a base [2. From the ball I 0 "extends a neck I4 which may be a bolt extended through the hair f2. The stem I4 extends through a draft bar or the like lBybY'WhiCh the'member I0 is connected with a towed vehicle, for instance. the-steml-4 is a nut l8.

Myhitch includes also the member 20, which it maybe a castingyand has bolt holes 22-24, to receivebolts 26 for fastening the member 20 to a draft memberof a towing vehicle, for exam plejsuch as a truck or'trailer.

A forward portion of the member 20 is pro- 01 the bore 36',"andthe. shapes of these'respec-j tive parts aresuch that the handle member 48 r cannot turn when the member 46 is received in the bore36, but may'bepulled up "to lift the member 46 out of the'bore 36, and let it slip back into the 'bore36 where it will again be snugly f and non-rotatably held.

The diameter of thebore 44 in the locking elemen't'lt is reduced atits lowerend at St to snuglyreceive and permit-rotation and sliding of the locking element onthe stem 42; On the upper end ofthe stem his a detachable cap 52. Hold between the cap 52"and the shoulder formed at the-upper en'dyof the reducedbore 5D is a'coil spring 54, which tends to holdthe' locking eleshownin'Figure2, and releasetheQball engag ing element 3Bfifrom ball holding position.

'The parts are so shaped that when'thelockin'g element 46 projects into the 'bore 36 the movable ball-engaging element'38 will beheld vided 'on its underside with a socket 32 to receive 1 the ball.

ing to the top of the member. t

A movable ball-engaging element 38 is shown a The socket 32 opens into a suitable recess 34, which has a bore portion 36extendinball-engag'ing position as shown in Figure 1.

When the lockingelement 46 is then pulled out of the; socket formed by the bore 36 and swung for"wardly, the member 38 will be moved and held in'ball-releasing position,'as,shown in Figure 2.

Inpractical operation, the element 46 is adj usted to the position of Figure 2'for holdingthe element 38 in ball-releasingposition. The member 45 can rotate on the stem 42 and maybe rotated enough so that .it cannot accidentally slip back into the bore 36 {I'he'balllfl is inserted into thesocket 32,'whereupon.the locking element 46 is allowed to slip back into the bore; The effect is to swing the ball-engaging element 38 to socketformingand ball-holding position and to lock it It will be noted that the locking element 46 is formed with a downturned flange 55 which overlaps the upper end of the ball-engaging element 38 when the .member 46 is in its lowermost position. The flange 55 then forms a filler between the element 38 and the wall of the bore 36 for giving the structure sturdiness.

I have thus provided a very simple, cheap and efiicient arrangement for controlling the movable ball-engaging element. The locking element 46 is merely pulled out against the tension of the spring 54, and swung to clear' the upper end of the bore 34. The effect is to move the ball-holding element 38 from ball-holding position of Figure 1 to ball-releasing position of Figure 2. The spring 54 holds the locking element 46 snugly in the bore 34, whereby the ball-holding member 38 is locked in whichever position it has taken, and there is no danger of actual displacement.

I To prevent rattle andto hold the parts snugly, I may provide on the element 38 a foot 56 and form in the member 20 a pocket 51 communicating'with the recess 34. In the pocket 5! is a coil spring 58 bearing against the'foot'56.

It is obvious that change may be made in the details of the structure of the hitch here described, and it is my purpose to cover by my claims any changes or modifications which may come within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention: a

1. In a hitch, a ball, a member having a socket, a communicating recess to receive the ball and having a bore communicating with the recess, a ball-engaging. element pivoted in the recess to move .to and from ball-engaging position, and having a stem, a locking element receivable in the bore, said bore and locking element being so shaped that the locking element may be received and held against rotation in the bore and may be removed from the bore and then moved, for actuating the ball engaging member, said locking element having a bore for slidably and rotatably associating the locking element with the stem.

to take strain imposed by the ball on the ball engaging member.

4. In a hitch, a ball, a member having a socket, a communicating recess to receive. the ball and having a bore communicating with the recess, a ball-engaging element pivoted in the recess to move to and from ball-engaging position, and

having a stem, a locking element receivable in ment when the parts are in ball locking position.

to take strain imposed by the ball on the ball engaging member, and an anti-rattle spring interposed between the ball engaging member and the first named member.

5. In a hitch, a ball, a member having a socket, a communicating recess to receive the ball and having a bore communicating with the recess, a ball-engaging element pivoted in the recess to move to and from ball-engaging position, and having a stem, a locking element receivable in the bore, said bore and locking element being so shaped that. the locking element may be received in the bore and may be removed therefrom and moved to actuate saidball engaging element, said locking element having slidable and rotatable association with the stem, and means tending to hold the locking member yieldingly in the bore, said means comprising. a spring on said stem 3 and bearing against the locking member.

2. In a hitch,-a ball, a member having a socket,

a communicating recess to receive the ball and having a bore communicating with the recess, a ball-engaging element pivoted in the recess to move to and from ball-engaging position, and having a stem, a locking element receivable in the bore, said bore and locking element being so shaped that the locking element may be received in the bore and may be removed therefrom and moved to actuate said ball engaging element, said locking element having slidable and rotatablev moved toactuate said ball engaging element, said 1 locking element having slidable and rotatable association with the stem, and means tending to hold the locking member yieldingly in the bore,

said locking element having a part adapted to overlap the upper part of the ball engaging element when the parts are in ball-locking position having a bore communicating'with the recess, a

ball-engaging element pivoted in the recess to move to and from ball-engaging position, and having a stem, a locking element receivable in the bore, said bore and locking element being so shaped that the locking element may be received in the bore and may be removed therefrom and moved to actuate said ball-engaging element, said locking element having a bore to slidably receive said stem, a cap on the stem, a spring on the stem held between the cap and the locking element for yieldingly tending to pull the locking element into the bore in the first-named member.

'7. In a hitch, a ball, a member having a socket, a communicating recess to receive the ball and having a bore communicating with the recess, a ball-engaging element pivoted in the recess to move to and from ball-engaging. position, and having a stem, a locking element receivable in the bore, said bore and locking element-being so shaped that the locking element may be received in the bore and may be removed therefrom and moved to actuate said ball-engaging element, said locking element having a bore to slidably receive said stem, a cap on the stem, a spring on the stem held between the cap and the locking element for yieldingly tending to pull the locking element into the bore in the first-named member, said locking element having a handle which is detachable to afford access to the bore in the locking element.

RAY F. SMITH. 

